Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds Detection in Pneumonia Screening: A Comprehensive Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Pneumonia is a common lower respiratory tract infection, and early diagnosis is crucial for timely treatment and improved prognosis. Traditional diagnostic methods for pneumonia, such as chest imaging and microbiological examinations, have certain limitations. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detection, as an emerging non-invasive diagnostic technique, has shown potential application value in pneumonia screening. Method A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, with the retrieval time up to March 2024. The inclusion criteria were diagnostic studies evaluating exhaled VOCs detection for the diagnosis of pneumonia, regardless of the trial design type. A meta-analysis was performed using a bivariate model for sensitivity and specificity. Results A total of 14 diagnostic studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that exhaled VOCs detection had a combined sensitivity of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.92–0.95) and a combined specificity of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.81–0.84) in pneumonia screening, with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve (AUC) of 0.96. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 104.37 (95% CI: 27.93–390.03), and the pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR) were 8.98 (95% CI: 3.88–20.80) and 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05–0.22), indicating a high diagnostic performance. Conclusion This study highlights the potential of exhaled VOCs detection as an effective, non-invasive screening method for pneumonia, which could facilitate future diagnosis in pneumonia. Further high-quality, large-scale studies are required to confirm the clinical utility of exhaled VOCs detection in pneumonia screening. Study registration: PROSPERO, Review no. CRD42024520498.